Local High School Students Advance to National and International Science and Engineering Competitions

Thirty-Five local high school students from Westchester and Putnam counties will represent the region at national and international science and engineering competitions after advancing at the 21st annual Regeneron Westchester (and Putnam) Science & Engineering Fair (WESEF). Winners were announced at a celebratory awards ceremony at Somers High School on March 24. In addition, approximately 200 students were recognized with top awards and prizes. 

On March 19 and 20, participants, mostly seniors and juniors from Westchester and Putnam counties, showcased their multi-year science research projects virtually to judges during the science fair competition. 

Twenty students won spots to compete at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest international science fair in the world. ISEF will be held May 7 – 13 in Atlanta, GA, and will bring together more than 1,800 science fair winners from over 75 countries in a hybrid format. 

ISEF Finalists include:   From Harrison, Mai Blaustein; Research: Identification of Chemical Contaminants in Spiked Beverages with the use of Infrared Spectroscopy through Development of Inexpensive and Inconspicuous Device to Identify Date-Rape Drugs; From Harrison, Jack Kelly; Research: Quantifying Linguistic Polarization for Congressional Representatives Facing Primary Challengers: A Random Effects Logit Regression Approach; From Mamaroneck, Tista Goswami: Research: SMART-Screen: A Point-of-Care COVID-19 Active Replication Detection System.

Fifteen students won a spot at the International Genius Olympiad, where more than 500 students from over 70 countries will compete with projects focused on sustainability in the areas of energy, environment, engineering and global health. The International Genius Olympiad will take place [virtually] in early June in Rochester, NY.

International Genius Olympiad Finalists include Anna Barlis, New Rochelle: Behavioral and Social Sciences and Aadi Bhattacharya, Rye Country Day: Cellular and Molecular Biology.

The Regeneron – Westchester Science and Engineering Fair, is made possible by the generous contributions of local corporations including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Con Edison and Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation,. Additional sponsors include Westchester Academy of Medicine, Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Momentive Performance Materials and others. In total, the sponsors have donated over $150,000 for this year’s event, enabling WESEF to award nearly 60 percent of all students with some form of recognition.  

For more information, visit www.wesef.org.